All weekend, American History tv is featuring tulsa oklahoma. Tulsa was an Oil Boom Town in the early 20th entry. The rise in economic wealth led to the construction of elaborate art deco structures in the citys downtown. Hosted by our cox cable partners, cspans city tours staff recently visited many sites showcasing the citys history. Learn more about tulsa all weekend here on American History tv. Dolph i think and support to remember that the official title of our museum is the institute of American History and art, and what he was doing the Thomas Gill Kreis institute of American History and art. What he wanted to do was be able to amass a collection that would tell the story of the americans not just United States of america, but material from northern canada, what today is alaska down through canada, what does become the united dates, central america, and south america. We cans be to the history of all of these americas through these different components of this election. His name was Thomas Gill Kreis. He was born in louisiana, but as an infant, his family relocated to indian territory because his mother was a Quarter Creek indian. One of the acts of congress that brought the gilcrease family to the creek nation of indian territory was an act that essentially broke up the Tribal Holdings of indian land and a lot of land to individuals indian people, on the different nations roles. The creek nations, as in a child of a mother who was a Quarter Creek indian, Thomas Gilcrease received an allotment and fortuitously for mr. Gilcrease it ended up sitting on top of one of the most productive oilfields in American History at the time about 20 miles south of tulsa. By the time Thomas Gilcrease is a young man, 20, 21 years old he is a millionaire, circa 1910 and whats happening in the united dates at the time is the automobile is becoming a primary means of transportation. What do you need for an automobile . You need lots of petroleum, and the oil wells that gilcrease was accumulating through that allotment and then his Business Activities produced the wealth that allowed him to become the collector that he will become to collect the art the anthropological, archaeological material in the collection, and the archival material. I think in many regards, the collection comes out of his native american ancestry. That would be a driving force of his collecting mission and vision, and then i think he was also a very curious hello always wanting to know more. While he had a fairly limited formal education, he was a lifelong learner, continually educating himself about the history of the americas. We are now in our uncommon ground exhibit, an exhibit from our Permanent Collection of items that be to what we as americans have in common. In spite of all of our differences, if they are race religious, ethnic we have so many things in common, and this first gallery in a suite of 10 galleries speaks to the land. Obviously, what we all have in common is the land of the United States that we inhabit and live upon and this first gallery shows the land in many cases before humans have arrived and has these magnificent landscapes of land, of the animals that were on the land like the bison and then one of our favorite works in the collection that is a part of any visit is shoshone falls on the snake river, painted in 1900. Gilcrease museum has the largest collection of works by this artist in existence. Not only paintings and watercolors, but also his notes. We have his journals where he kept records of the prices he was paid for these different works, but shoshone falls is a favorite of not only our local audiences here in tulsa, oklahoma, the united dates. United states. When Henry Kissinger has been in town, he likes to sit in front of this work and absorb its beauty, and it really is a work that speaks to the sublime of nature the aweinspiring beauty of nature. A work can be both aweinspiring but also terrifying in this case. Shoshone falls, known as the niagara of the west. We are in our focus on favorites exhibit. These exhibits fine art anthropological, archival represent the masterworks within the collection. I would like to point out part of our collection that i think is often overlooked is the anthropological collection. By anthropological, i mean objects of human culture that help us understand people of the americas that have lived here for thousands of years before europeans ever set foot into what they thought was a new world, which in fact was a very old world. In the case to my right, we have objects rom from this part of the United States. Items from the mississippi culture, represented in oklahoma by one of the most significant archaeological sites in all of oklahoma. These would be the pottery pieces that you see. Very sophisticated knowledge of pottery. They are incised or decorated with images, iconography that speaks to what was important for this culture. Then my favorite piece is this a very small beaver effigy. Its about 2000 years old. Looking at the carvings, the exquisite detail, in my mind, the abstraction of the beaver dan is a central component. The eyes of the beaver are inset with river pearls from the Mississippi River drainage. The teeth are beaver teeth that have been carved down and set into this piece of stone to create a very realistic depiction of a beaver. Again, this was ceremony of ceremonial, and when it was used in ceremony, you could see the small holes, very front portions of this, thats where the smoking stem would be inserted so when a suit when a man was smoking the set ceremony, he is looking right at this very angry beaver. Wonderful, beautiful piece. In fact, this is considered the best example of this woodland culture here at gilcrease museum. We are still in our focus on favorites exhibit. We are in a room i kind of luck to call the history room. Many of the objects here speak to our history both as when we become the United States but also the history of the americas, beginning with contact with europeans and this document to my right is a great example of this. This is a letter composed, dictated by Diego Columbus, the son of Christopher Columbus in 1520. In this letter, columbus is bringing up a subject he had brought up in an earlier letter that we have of 1512. That is how the spanish need to treat the indians better. They have introduced disease among them. They have enslaved them. He has asked that they no longer be enslaved, that they be treated better, that they be christianized. The indians have a soul that can be saved through christianity. But then he goes onto say that if we christianize and save the indians, we can no longer insane enslave them, which will create, in essence, a labor problem for the spanish. This letter Diego Columbus asks for permission to begin the importation of african slaves the first known mention of african slaves being brought into the americas. Our collection can tell the story of european contact with native people, but very quickly our story will include the continent of africa and africans being brought into the americans through documents like this. This is one of my favorite pieces. The datelines cambridge the dateline is cambridge, april 20 9, 1775, so this would be the boston area. It reads, this may certify that the bearer, mr. Paul revere, is messenger to the committee of safety and that all dispatch and assistance be given him in all instances that the triumph of the colony may be facilitated, signed by joseph warren. This was paul reveres path pass to move about the minimum lines in the boston area. This past to paul revere was written about 10 days after the battle of concorde, of lexington, the shots heard round the world that will officially begin, i guess, the american revolution. It actually gets even better because i think our most prized possession is the only known surviving handwritten copy of the declaration of independence. We know that this was created in philadelphia, and then in early 1777, franklin will use it to communicate to the court of frederick the great of prussia exactly what is happening back here in this new United States. We have in essence the cover letter that went with this. Franklin is saying we the united dates of america have just declared our independence from great britain, and here is our declaration of that and the reason for our formation is a new nation. For many of our guests, wanting to see examples from the collection that speak to our history as a nation and particularly the revolutionary period we have this wonderful painting depicting George Washington and lafayette at the battle of brandywine. This is a painting that depicts washington in a very classical heroic pose with the french aristocrat, lafayette, that had come inspired by the revolution had come to the american cause. In fact, became like a surrogate son to George Washington. We see that in this wonderful depiction of the brandywine battle which, by the way, was an american defeat but never a defeat where washington would lose his army, and he would go on later to win independence. We often think of George Washington as father of the nation, both as a military leader, and then later as president of the united dates. Not only do we have this wonderful painting of the battle of brandywine with washington and lafayette, but we are so fortunate to have these busts of washington and lafayette in the collection. Both of these were done from life. A great french sculptor came to the United States after the revolution and did castings of washington from life, and then, a few years later, back in france did this magnificent scope sculpture of lafayette. Many french art historians consider this the best work the sculptor ever did. Amazingly, Thomas Gilcrease was able to acquire this bust of lafayette from the lafayette family. Later, in Thomas Gilcreases collecting experience, he came in contact with the office of the the artist of the town school of art in taos, new mexico, and one of my favorite is this work of a hunt new the pueblo area. The title of the work is too old for the rabbit hunt. We see this older pueblo indian in the foreground looking wistfully at the young men on horseback as they are hunting. This is a work for me that transcends time and culture that all of us at some point in our lives will become too old to do the things we could do in our youth and we love to do, and when we see that here, the old man looking at his past, and i often wonder if this is an allegorical work, that what he is seeing is actually a dream of his past, but in any case, a wonderful work representing the house house taos school, to signify almost the timeless quality of the landscape of house, new mexico, and these indian people that have lived there long before europeans had come in contact, these pueblo areas of new mexico and arizona the oldest, longest lived continuously lived areas of human inhabitants here in what could count as the United States. As a lifelong collector of the arts, archives, anthropological items, gilcrease was continually adding to the collection. By the early 1950s, his collecting was on this upward trajectory. Fortunately for him, the price of oil was sinking, sinking, sinking down to the point that eventually, he was a little bit upside down as he owed money and there was the real threat that he would have to sell part of his collection to cover these debts, to pay off these debts. In 1954 a citywide bond issue was put together to help pay the private debts to public funds. The only time im aware of where a Community Came together to help pay off private debt to save an institution they held very dear in the community. The bond issue was put to a vote of the public. It was passed by over 2 3 of the community wanting to save this precious part of the community. Over time, gilcrease would give the building, the grounds, the collection to the city of tulsa. As of 2008, the museum is now managed by the university of tulsa. So its a wonderful partnership. Cityowned museum seeing operated by tulsas own university of tulsa. That partnership will help actuate the survival, the existence of the museum far into the future. Throughout the weekend American History tv is featuring tulsa, oklahoma. Our cities tour staff recently traveled there to learn about its rich history. Learn more about tulsa and other stops on our tour at www. Cspan. Org citiesto her. You are watching American History tv all weekend every weekend on cspan3. Join American History tv on april 9 and 12 for live coverage of ceremonies marking the 150th anniversary of the surrender at appomattox. In april 1865, confederate general robert ely met Union GeneralUlysses S Grant in the village of appomattox courthouse and surrendered his army of northern virginia, effectively ending the civil war confederate general robert e lee. Well be live on april 9 and april 12 as historians including the university of richmonds errors reflect on the last battles and explore the aftermath and legacy. We will also bring you reenactments and open our phone lines to take your calls. The surrender at appomattox live april 9 and 12 here on American History tv on cspan3. The most memorable moment of this week for me was on hearing senator gardner at our lunch yesterday say, you need to be firm in your principles but flexible in the details, because i think it really reflect the solution like the harsh polarization we see in our country and the methodology that if all the senators, all the congressmen and women and all the state legislatures can adopt , we can really come together and solve many of our pertinent issues. My favorite quote came from the secretary of the senate. She said remember to be humble and have a strong work ethic because the people you meet on the way up, you will need them again on the way back down. We have a lack of true statesman. As much as i may disagree with him, senator john mccain did something very impressive last year. He committed to the Veterans Affairs reform bill. Reading the Senate Torture report, maintaining how staying away from torture is essential to the character of our democracy. I think at the point where we have people who are willing to cross the aisle, willing to make his decisions with people who they may not often agree with that is essentially what we need to maintain the security, the integrity of our nation as we go on. High School Students who generally rank academically in the top 1 of their states were in washington, d. C. , as part of the united dates Senate Youth ProgramUnited StatesSenate Youth Program. American history tv recently visited Longwood University in virginia. The program was cohosted by the university at appomattox courthouse National Historical park. Author chris caucus talks about the military maneuvers of the union and confederate armies that brought them to appomattox